Collar and cuff and method of making the same



Nov. 1; 1927. 1,647,950

R. F. BACON ET AL COLLAR AND CUFF AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME OriginalFiled Afiiil 1. 19 22 1 Snoutozs Paymond E Bac n w division.

Patented Nov. 1', 1927.

g nmrso RAYMOND F. BACON,- OF NEW YORK, AND CLEO KIDWELL, OF ,GEORGE,1\TEW YOBK,'ASSIGNOBS, BY MESNE ASBWNTS, TO VAN HEUSEN PRODUCTS, INQ, .&

. eonrona'rron or I cornea AND corn 1 arson on a t mtlg'lna'lapplication. fil d April i, 182%, Serial No. $6M, and in Canada May. 2?,i922. Divided and I this application filed March as, 1923. Serial No.626,845.

parel. having therein-a chemically produced natural fold line, inasmuchas sguch collars 1 and ends constitute the subject matter pf anotherapplication filed by us April 1, 1922, Serial #5l8,604, upon which apatent was granted April 15, 1924,. Patent No. 1,490,081, and of whichthe present application is a Une oi the objects of the invention is toprovide in such ends of the French or turn-over variety and in suchcollars of the folding or turn-down variety and also of the W stand-upvariety havin turn-down tips or wings, permanent fold hues along whichthe ends and collars will tend to fold withoutaltering the weave of thefabric at such lines. M1 Y f W Heretofore, collars and ends of thecharacter referred tohave in many instances been rovided with foldportions of increased exibility, the said fold portion being produced inthe weavingof the fabric, for exso ample, by omitting certain of thewarp 1 threads and the interweave or binder threads alon this flexiblefold portion. "In weaving fabrlcs in this manner for the manufacture ofcollars the fabric itself and the weakened 5 fold portionshave, in someinstances, been given a curvilinear contour by drawing the abric fromthe loom over conical take-up rolls, as full set forth and described inpatents to j According to the present invention we roduce a permanentnatural fold of any deslred contour and location after thexfabric {hasbeen woven, and either before or after the collaror cullhas been cutout.The fabric itself may be woven either in curvilinear or straight form. 1

Broadl stated, our invention com rises, first, subwctihg the fabricalongithe e at W which the natural fold is to be produced, n: totheaction of an acid,'folding and pressorgan Nos. 1,254,339 and ,of ..5% byweight was excellent re The acid may he app "ed to the fabric along ingthe fabric along the said natural fold 11116, and then Washing out, thacid. We

have found that by utilizing a very dilute acid solution of theropertdegreeof dilution and by subjecting the fabric to its action forthe proper length of time at a proper temperature, and. pressing thefabric preferably when folded in the desired positron, the fabric sotreated will be provided with a natural and permanent fold line.

That is to say, the fabric when folded will always tend to fold alongthe line thus treated.

The strength and the particular vkind ofv acid used, and the duration ofthe acid treatment vary with the particular material treated. So alsothe particular method of sulnecting the material to the acid may varywidely. Accordingly we shall not endeavor herein to describe all of theways in vwhich our invention may be practiced. But in order that thoseskilled in the art may understand the invention fully and may apply itto any desired material, we will, for purposes of illustration merely,and not with the intention of limiting the scope of the invention in anyrespect, describe one way in which we have applied the invention to onetype of fabric with excellent results.

The fabric of which the collars and ends of semi-stifi type are made maybe, for example, a multiple ply interwoven fabric described in thehereinbefore referred to 1,254,339 and patents to Morgan Nos.

1,254,340. Fabrics of this kind possess a considerable degree ofinherent stilfness and set, so that collars and cuffs made therefrom aresubstantially free from wrinkling and flimsiness and do not require theuse of starch or other stifiening material in the laundering operation.

The fabric whose treatment we are about to describe is a two-plyinterwoven fabric ha'vin an intermediate layer of warp filler threads;For this particular fabric we have found that sulphuric acid of a strenh ts.

the desired line of fold of a width of say 1 The fabric may then befolded along the line of acid treatment and subjected to a temperatureof about'lOO C. and a pressure comparable to that used in an ordinarycommercial ironing machine. After this treatment has been carried outthe fabric is washed with water and subsequently, if desired, with analkaline solution, although we do not consider the alkaline bath to beessential. In carryin out this process the fabric may be irone flat,after the acid has been applied,- and then after washing out the acid,it may be folded along the line of acid treatment and pressed, althoughwe prefer the method described above, namely, pressing the fabric whilein folded condition during the acid treatment. The pressure and heattreatment to which the fabric is subjected after the acid has beenapplied, if carried on for too lon a. eriod will tend to char anddiscolor t e abric. We have found that about one minute is asatisfactory time, although a good fold portion ma be obtained withoutdiscoloration by treating the fabric for only a few up to about tenminutes.

The invention will be further described in connection with theaccompanying drawings seconds illustrative ofcertain embodimentsthereof.

in which Fig. lis a perspective view of a folding or turn-down collarembodyin the invention; Fi 2 is a plan view of t e collar of Fig. 1 unolded;.

Fig. 3 is a perspective viewof a stand-up collar with turn-down wings;

Fig. 4 is .a plan view of the collar of Fig. 3 laid out flat; and

may

' illustrate a collar of the folding "orfturndown type, the folding orturn-down portion of which is-indicated by the reference numeral 1, theneckband, portion by 2 and the natural fold portion by 3. In the examplehere shown the fold is curvilinear. The said natural fold portion 3 isproduced b eating the fabric along the line at which the collar is tofold with a dilute solution of sulhuric acid, folding the fabric alongthat ine, either before or after the ap lication of. the acid,subjecting it to the action of heat and pressure while so folded, andthereafter washing out the acid with water or with an alkaline solutionor both. The treatment as above described may be madeafter the fabrichas been cut up into collar blanks as shown in Fig. 2, or the saidtreatment may be made at any other time after the fabric has been woventhat ma be deemed advantageous or advisable. t will be obvious that afold line of any degree of curvature may be obtained either on a.straight-woven fabric Fig. 5 shows a cuff of theicharacter that.

Figs. 1 andnz'z soft collar or soft cuff a curvilinear contour,

by varying as desir of the acid solution.

Fi s. 3 and 4 illustrate a collar of the stan -up type having turn-downtips or wings, the stand-up or band portion of the collar beingindicated by reference numeral 4:, the turn-down wing portion by 5, andthe fold lines of the wing portions by 6. The fold portions 6 alon whichthe wings 5 fold may be produce as set forth above by treating the saidlines 6 with a dilute acid solution and then ironing the folded fabricDuring the pressing or ironin operation the wings 5 may advantageouslylie held in the same position with respect to the band portion as thesaid wings will take in the .finished collar, although we do not intendto limit ourselves .to any particular osition or positions at which thewings shall e held.

The cuff of Fig. 5 is of the turn-over or French type and its fold line7 is produced in the manner above described.

It will be understood that the ressure to which the folded fabric is subected may Vary widely, depending on the sharpness or acuteness of thefold portion that is desired. Also the temperature may vary, the effectin general being that the lower the tem erature the longer the fabricshould be sub ected to the action of the acid.

In the above specification and in certain of the appended claims we haveemplo ed the term semi-stiff as descriptive of t e general type ofcollar or cuff to which this invention refers. By this term we do notmean to define any particular degree of stiffness; but we use it in abroad sense, as including all collars and cuffs which, in theirunstarched condition, possess greater inher' ent stiffness than anordinary unstarched such, for example, as those made from materials ofthe character used in making negligee shirts.

Also, we speak of the natural fold produced by the method described asbeing permanent. This term is used in a relative sense only and isintended to cover any natural fold which retains its effectiveness aftera succession of launderings.

The terms and expressions which we have employed are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitations, and we have no intention, in the useof such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of thefeatures shown and described, orportions thereof, but recognize thatvarious modifications are possible within the scope of the inventionclaimed.

What we claim is:

1. In the manufacture of fabric collars or cufis, the method ofproducing a natural fold line therein which consists in treating thefabric on the desired line of fold with lute solution of sulphuric acid,folding the fabric along said line, pressing it while so folded, andthen washing out the acid.

2. In the manufacture of collars or cuffs of semi-still fabric, themethod of producing 5 a. natural fold line therein which consists intreating said fabric on the desired line of fold with a solution ofabout .5% by weight.

of sulphuric acid, folding the fabric along said line, pressing it whileso folded and while subjected to heat, and then washing 10 out the acid.

RAYMOND F. BACON. CLEO H. KIDWELL.

